But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
But those things which proceed out of the mouth,…. Meaning not material things, as spittle, vomit, c. but, as it follows, which
come forth from the heart: are first conceived and formed there, and then come forth from thence, and are expressed by the mouth as all idle words, foolish talking, filthy jesting, unsavoury communication, and every word that is rotten and corrupt, or which is done in the life and conversation;
and they defile the man: the heart is the corrupt fountain from whence all moral defilement flows; and sinful words and actions are the impure streams, which spring from thence, and increase the moral pollution of human nature.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Out of the mouth ( ). Spoken words come out of the heart and so are a true index of character. By “heart” () Jesus means not just the emotional nature, but the entire man, the inward life of “evil thoughts” ( ) that issue in words and deeds. “These defile the man,” not “eating with unwashed hands.” The captious quibblings of the Pharisees, for instance, had come out of evil hearts.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
18. Proceed out of the mouth Our words particularly. From the heart They proceed from the inward intention. Thereby not merely our words but our actions, and all that go from the heart, are included. A man is a voluntary cause, and is responsible for all his voluntary and intentional effects.
“But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man.”
On the other hand the things which can really defile a man religiously and morally (parallel ideas in those days) are the things that are revealed by what comes from the mouth in the words that a man speaks (compare Mat 12:36-37). For it is they which come from the heart, and demonstrate what is in the heart. They, as it were, reproduce what is in the inner man.
‘Out of the mouth.’ This is in contrast with what goes in at the mouth earlier. What comes out of the mouth reveals the evil thoughts of men. The list that follows does not specifically keep the mouth in mind, but Jesus was well aware that in the end all these sins would in one way or another result in words which would reveal an evil heart.
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Ver. 18. Come forth from the heart ] That forth of sin and fountain of folly; for “as a fountain casteth forth her waters, so doth the heart of man cast out its wickedness,” Jer 6:7 ; and if the tongue be “a world of wickedness,” Jas 3:6 , what is the heart, that seminary of sin, wherein is a , as Empedocles saith in Aristotle. a In this sea are not only that leviathan the devil (who there sets up his forts and strongholds,2Co 10:42Co 10:4 , and doth intrench and incage himself), but creeping things innumerable, Psa 104:26 , making that which should be the temple of God a den of thieves, a palace of pride, a slaughter house of malice, a brothel house of uncleanness, a raging sea of sin,Isa 57:20Isa 57:20 , a little hell of black and blasphemous imaginations. The natural man lies rotting in the grave of corruption, wrapped up in the winding sheet of hardness of heart and blindness of mind, and (as a carcase crawleth with worms) swarming with those noisome lusts, that were able to poison up an honest heart.
a As in that chaos, Gen 1:2 , were the seeds of all creatures; so in the heart, of all sins.
Mat 15:18 . : words representing thoughts and desires, morally defiling, or rather revealing defilement already existing in the heart, seat of thought and passion.
But those, &c. Figure of speech Epimone, verses: 18-20.
from = out of. Greek. ek, as in preceding clause,
Mat 15:18-21. But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
He went right away, not because he was afraid to speak the truth, but because, having done so, he did not care to remain in the company of those who were round about him. He would rather go even to the verge of heathendom than live in the midst of Pharisaic hypocrisy: Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
Mat 15:22. And, behold,
There is something here that is worth beholding, so the Holy Ghost draws attention to it, just as we sometimes print N.B., Nota bene; mark well;
behold,
Mat 15:22. A woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts,
Possibly she did not know that Christ had come; but, anyhow, when Christ comes, sinners come. He journeyed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, and this woman met him.
Mat 15:22-23. And cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
Perhaps they meant, Give her the blessing, and let her go. Thou art seeking quiet here, and she will not let thee, nor us either, have any. Send her away. They made a great mistake when they said, She crieth after us. It was Christ to whom she cried, not his disciples.
Mat 15:24. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
My ministerial commission is only to the Jews. As a Saviour, he comes to save sinners, out of all nations; but as the Messiah, his special mission was to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Mat 15:25. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
Then came she, and worshipped him. If Jesus Christ was not really and truly God, he was a base imposter to allow this woman to worship him. She had called him Lord, once before, and he did not rebuke her, and now she not only calls him Lord, but she worships him. She was doing quite right, for he is none other than very God of very God: Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
Mat 15:26. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to cast it to dogs.
Or, to little dogs, for the word is, in that form in the Greek.
Mat 15:27. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters table.
It was well for her that the Master had used that diminutive form of the word, for the bigger dogs in the East were not permitted in the house, but the little dogs were admitted to play with the children. She seemed to snatch at that idea as she cried, Truth, Lord: yet the little dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters table, as though the greatest possible boon to her was, but a crumb to him, and but a crumb compared with the bread which he was putting upon the table of Israel. The greater blessing which he was giving to the children might prompt him to give a crumb to her.
Mat 15:28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Oh, the triumph of faith! God grant it to us! Yet this woman may surely shame many of us; we have not half her discouragements, and we have not half her confidence in Christ.
Mat 15:29. And Jesus departed from thence,
He is always on the move, for he has always something else to do. As soon as his deed of grace is done in one part, he hastens to another: And Jesus departed from thence,
Mat 15:29-31. And came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus feet; and he healed them: insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
This was Israels table indeed; and when you see these many mighty cures that Christ wrought, you can easily justify the speech of the Syrophenician woman, and agree with her that what she sought was only a crumb compared with the bountiful feast of fat things that was prepared for the favored nation.
Mat 15:11, Mat 12:34, 1Sa 24:13, Psa 36:3, Pro 6:12, Pro 10:32, Pro 15:2, Pro 15:28, Luk 19:22, Jam 3:6-10, Rev 13:5, Rev 13:6
Reciprocal: Lev 18:24 – Defile Isa 55:7 – his thoughts Gal 5:19 – Adultery Tit 1:15 – but Jam 1:14 – when
5:18
The things that come out of the mouth orginate in the heart, and if they are evil it indicates an impure and a defiled heart. (See chapter 12:34.)
Mat 15:18. Expresses in another form the same thought, indicating plainly that the heart is unaffected by what goes into the mouth, while what comes out of the mouth indicates what is in the heart.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament